I have done JUDDD several times over the last few years and always wind up quitting because I have not been able to keep my DD as low as everyone else.

I lose slowly on any diet, Juddd included. At my age low carb isn't enough and everyday calorie restriction is hell.

Does the JUDDD group get militant about calorie levels? I am hopong that I can work my way down to an acceptable level. Today has been really good for me and should total out at 500-550. Often my DD counts come in closer to 800. (I still lose a little at that level).

I just don't want to join in and get bashed for not following the rules, ya know what I mean. I could do this alone, but it is so much easier (and more fun) with a group to encourage me.

First off Welcome!
We are such a supportive group- no bashers here.
Everyone does what works for them and we embrace that!
If people are struggling and asking for feed back we give that, too, but lovingly, truly.
Get a good cup of tea and read away- you will see that the JUDDD Buds here are awesome, supportive and full of encouragement for one another.
We all work the plan so that it works for us as individuals.
If you feel good with your DD numbers and are losing we would never criticise. again!

LOTS of people have started at wayyyy higher calories than the calculator recommends. I was at 700 for weeks on my DD's. Now I seldom get up to 500. I think the calculator has me at 350 but I exercise a ton--Do whatever feels right to you. JUDDD is a process, not an event

You will not find any bashing here. In fact, you have found the most supportive, helpful, loving group of people here who will always try to help out if you find yourself floundering.

I am back at JUDDD and like you have done it over the years and end up quitting just because........at least you know why you stop.

Some folks here do better with higher DDs, others with lower DDs. You have to work this plan so that it is sustainable for you. Many have started higher and dropped down later on. You have several different percentages on the JUDDD calculator that will keep you in weight loss mode and while weight loss may be slower at the higher levels, if it keeps you sane, I say go for it!!! If the calorie level you choose works for you and keeps you on plan instead of going off, then you are winning for sure.

__________________
Laura

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. - Louis Pasteur

I'm a little confused about the threads. It is set up different than it used to be.
I will join the daily weigher thread. Which threads are for general gab? Any info on how things are set up now? Are there several groups or just more topical threads?

I'm a little confused about the threads. It is set up different than it used to be.
I will join the daily weigher thread. Which threads are for general gab? Any info on how things are set up now? Are there several groups or just more topical threads?

There is a daily chat thread, as well as a daily ongoing thread for people who are on their DD's (so you'd just check in there on your DDs). Plus the daily weigh in thread. And there's also a daily food plan thread for DD's and UDs, started by whoever gets to it first That's where you can post your plan for the day and get ideas from others!

Looks like your questions have been answered, so I just wanted to pop in and say ! I think there's an unwritten rule around here that bashing isn't allowed. Or perhaps we just don't have it in us because we're so darned happy. Whatever the case, I have never felt anything but love and support on this board.

At first my DD's were 600ish, I just couldn't handle any less (mine are meant to be 350 ) Anyways, 10 weeks in and 400 is managable. You need to try differant dd food combinations, see what works for you. I am also a very slow loser so no bashing here. We are not all perfect on this program, but even if it's slow, it's moving! I have only lost 4 pound in 10 weeks, but feel a million bucks. There are just so many perks to JUDDD.... good luck!

Welocme!! This is a wonderful place with lots of support. I have yet to hear any bashing on this entire forum board ( I visit JUDDD and L/C Loby) and the support is amazing. If you can eat more calories then me and lose then I'll congratulate you ( might be a bit jelous too!) and if you want to find ways to lower your calories people here are always welcome to share their own personal techniques.

Sally! You will definitely hear no bashing here. It's a wonderful place, and there's no way I could have kept with it for this long w/o this board. Not because I'm not happy doing it, but just because the support is so great, all your questions get answered, and you just feel happy connecting with a great group of people.

This is my second time around with JUDDD. The first time I was very "by the book" and I lost 50lbs in about 7 months. I was also in a biggest loser contest and won $250 which was a great motivation to lose big and quick. But, the contest ended, the economy tanked, life got rough and I eventually gained back 55lbs.

The second time around I have NOT been by-the-book. I made changes to make it more doable for me on a long-term basis. I have lost a lot slower...36ish pounds in 8 and a half months. But, I am not burned out or ready to quit. I have never in my whole life stuck to a diet this long. It is really surprising to me that the holidays are here and I don't have that attitude of might as well just eat it up until after New Year's. NOT at all. Turkey Day is just one day and holidays are UP days automatically (that's even in the book. ) Christmas and New Years are also just another up day. I don't feel any need to quit for the holidays. That is really an NSV for me. I used to be a blow it and give it up til Monday or next week or the first of the month or New Years resolution time type of dieter.

So, I say bend the rules if you want. Just realize that it may affect how quickly you lose. For me, this is for real this time. Not a sprint. Not even a marathon. This is forever. I believe I can continue this plan until maintenance and beyond...forever and ever amen.

Welcome Sally! I'm here just about a month and all I've encountered is encouragement, support and balance. It's such a balanced woe, how could its followers be anything but (except after a glass of wine or 2, , and, yes, that's allowed... Big for me).

Seriously though, the Buds rejoice when you have something to celebrate, step in with advice & encouragement when you are puzzled and remind you how well you have done when you start to bash yourself. Not even self-bashing flies on this board, what's not to love?!

I have never had a DD below 500c and most are between 600-800c. I have followed JUDDD for 6+ months. You have to be able to live and function. I do better with DD's on the weekend. During the week, I just get so hungry I can't function or think!

This time around I want it to be as liveable as possible. I want to lose the stress and DIET mentality. I am so tired of always thinking about food....there are more important things in my life.

I'm sure I will make lots of mistakes and have to recouperate, but that is part of life. If I can stick with it a few weeks I will develope a rythem and the up and down rotation should fall into place. Instead of an all or nothing approach I am choosing "Never give up, never surrender"

Everyone here is finding a way to do intermittent fasting that works as a healthier lifestyle. Your choices are all your own, just one of the freeing aspects of IF.
Bask in the support and encouragement, share your learning experiences, and enjoy the life!

__________________ Find someone to love today, especially yourself.
Eat well and be well! Use your local farmacy! Do more YOGA!

Welcome Sally. As has been said over and over, nothing but love, support and encouragement here, mixed in with some reality checks when needed, but done so lovingly and with an eye to help.

JUDDD teaches us SO much about how we respond to food, which foods keep us happy and full and which trigger binges or cravings. And we are ALL different. What works for me may leave you wanting to gnaw off your arm, and vice versa. Some breeze through dd's and struggle on UD's, others have trouble getting all their UD calories in. Some need food on dd's, others find a near total fast to be best for them. Some actually find if they drop too low on a dd, it stalls their losses too.

What this means is that the first few weeks on JUDDD are a time of learning about what is going to work for you.

The goal here is to get healthy, and lose some weight in the process. JUDDD accomplishes both, and is flexible enough to work, even if you don't do it just like I do.

__________________
Tina--wife to my dh for 24 years and mom to 4 great kids. JUDDD reboot to lose the nearly 20 pounds gained in the past 2 years.

In my first weeks here, someone on this board chose to send me a private email through my author account in which they took exception to posts about my struggles with hunger and actually called me names I hadn't heard since grade school.

I haven't seen that person on the boards since and have long since decided that it was a pretty random happenstance.

Part of the beauty of JUDDD is that there's nothing militant about it. It's about balancing out our calories, our mindset, and our lives. So I think you're going to do really wonderfully here.

And I have never met such nice people as on this board. They are amazing.

In my first weeks here, someone on this board chose to send me a private email through my author account in which they took exception to posts about my struggles with hunger and actually called me names I hadn't heard since grade school.

I haven't seen that person on the boards since and have long since decided that it was a pretty random happenstance.

Part of the beauty of JUDDD is that there's nothing militant about it. It's about balancing out our calories, our mindset, and our lives. So I think you're going to do really wonderfully here.

And I have never met such nice people as on this board. They are amazing.

Wow, I had no idea. Sorry you had that experience. Your insight is invaluable IMHO.

I'm a little confused about the threads. It is set up different than it used to be.
I will join the daily weigher thread. Which threads are for general gab? Any info on how things are set up now? Are there several groups or just more topical threads?

All of them!!! You can pop around and join in on any thread you like. I usually look at the topics and read and dive in! Feel free to start a new thread, like this one, any time you have a question, a thought, insight, celebration, bad day, good day.....you get the picture!

Some of us have joked in the past that the SIRT 1 gene should be called the "happy gene".

Dr. Johnson, in his book, calls it the Rescue Gene. And for me it is! It rescued me from endless yo-yo dieting and diet fatigue and diet-hatred!! lol!

As the poster child for DD difficulties, let me say I received nothing but encouragement and even suggestion to raise my DD calories for as long as it took. Please take to heart one bit of advice and that is to not stress about not having the same experience as some of the others. The stress can derail you faster than any other thing. Know your own body and feed it the foods that make it happy and healthy. When it is safe in the knowlege that you will take care of it, it will relinquish the fat.

As the poster child for DD difficulties, let me say I received nothing but encouragement and even suggestion to raise my DD calories for as long as it took. Please take to heart one bit of advice and that is to not stress about not having the same experience as some of the others. The stress can derail you faster than any other thing. Know your own body and feed it the foods that make it happy and healthy. When it is safe in the knowlege that you will take care of it, it will relinquish the fat.

Great , Cici!

One thing I'll add to the discussion is that Dr. J says there is research that seems to prove even eating up to but not over 75% on DDs will still activate Sirt 1 and get those important sirtuin enzymes flowing.

Isn't that great? So, sometimes when I've gone over my planned DD calories for whatever reason, I still know that JUDD does a body good!

__________________Yam-Yam

"Weight loss isn't about winning a race; it's about crossing the finish line at your own pace." -Dianna Rodriguiz

This has got to be the least militant place on the entire internet I've ever seen. JUDDD gives you guidelines, but what I've seen is that people customize it to make it work for them. It is definitely not one size fits all, and if a woe is so strict as to cause stress and fatigue, it's not gonna work for us anyway.

Jump right in, read the JUDDD threads, ask questions, use this board for support as much as you can, and by all means, start with what you feel comfortable with.

Although I sometimes need to work on my tactfulness
I've tried to encourage EVERYONE, even if they mess up every day,
because maybe, eventually, one day they'll get it right!
But that one day might never come if they're scared off.
And I had to admit to myself that sometimes I didn't feel patient enough to answer questions in a kind, supportive way, and I didn't have to answer every single post as soon as it popped up, because someone nicer would come along soon! (That's gotten easier as this group has gotten bigger and more experienced and more successful...just 13-14 months ago, it seemed like we only had 2-3 experts around.)

Personally, I'm very--perhaps overly--sensitive to "reality checks" and "tough love", so I keep a lot of my struggles to myself, and I stopped posting my calories/menus because I was intimidated by everyone else's <500-calories-a-day. But...I have also ditched JUDDD a few times, and I keep re-gaining and re-losing.

However, the people who a little tougher and less shy, and who are upfront about their calories and problems, get lots of support and seem to do really well!!!

This is a great group, though, and I can't seem to stay away!

You see the little red & white triangle in the bottom left corner of every post? You can always report bashing, personal attacks, nasty private emails...it helps keep this a friendly place! I think it's better to chase off one rude person than to have that one rude person chase off dozens of shy ones in need of help!

In my first weeks here, someone on this board chose to send me a private email through my author account in which they took exception to posts about my struggles with hunger and actually called me names I hadn't heard since grade school.

I haven't seen that person on the boards since and have long since decided that it was a pretty random happenstance.

Part of the beauty of JUDDD is that there's nothing militant about it. It's about balancing out our calories, our mindset, and our lives. So I think you're going to do really wonderfully here.

And I have never met such nice people as on this board. They are amazing.

This really shocked me Steph. I am so sorry that happened to you. You are such an asset to the JUDDD boards.

Good to see you post PJ, I know things have been tough since Sandy.

Quote:

(That's gotten easier as this group has gotten bigger and more experienced and more successful...just 13-14 months ago, it seemed like we only had 2-3 experts around.)

But isn't it great that as some of the experts move on, others appear to offer input.